The invention relates, in the first place, to a method for securing, stabilising and reclaiming areas of land and subsoils above and below water.
Coastal and shoreline regions, islands, embankments, dykes, dunes and other woodland or vegetation soils laid bare, for example, due to deforestation or defoliation are exposed to high erosive forces which, sometimes irretrievably, strip away valuable subsoil. Moreover, coastal and shoreline regions, islands, embankments and dykes are subjected to high water forces, and, under certain conditions, this may lead to their destruction. Under the action of wind, dunes become so-called shifting dunes. Areas of woodland, pasture and other vegetation which are destroyed by deforestation or defoliation are exposed to irrevocable erosion. Man has always tried to combat such damage with the aid of means available to him. Thus, for example, the surface of embankments and dykes is secured with the aid of special planting schemes. Other technical means are, for example, paving with stones or covering with bitumen. Coastal regions (beaches) are secured, for example, by means of interwoven branches, so-called fascines, the ebb and flow contributing to depositing silt into areas to be protected in such manner and to reclaiming land. By contrast, areas of woodland and pasture destroyed by erosion are lost irretrievably since newly applied humus-rich soil is stripped away again as a result of new erosive forces which arise.
In the construction of artificial islands in regions of shallow water, in which dumped earth is to be secured with the aid of an enclosure of prefabricated angle supporting walls, it is repeatedly found that the latter cannot withstand the constant pressure of the dumped earth.
Even so-called tetrapods (hedgehog-shaped concrete bodies), which, by being intermeshed with one another, are intended to effect a surface structure securing of shoreline and coastal strips over an area, represent only a temporary solution to problems of erosion.
Furthermore, it is known that there are ideas of using vehicle tires, in particular old vehicle tires, for the protection of land areas, etc., these tires being filled or encased by means of concrete or other materials. The concrete used is usually so-called tipping concrete.
The measures described above for securing, stabilising and reclaiming areas of land above and below water prove either to be highly labour-intensive and cost-intensive or, because of local difficulties, to be impracticable. On the one hand, it proves difficult to provide quantities and weight of material in places where access is usually poor. Another problem is that of putting in place and putting to work the required quantities of material and local material structures in the important and critical regions under water and at relatively great depths. For this purpose, hitherto, underwater structures have had to be erected with the aid of caissons. Alternatively, materials have been introduced in bulk form inaccurately into the underwater regions to be secured.
In view of the prior art described above, in the first place a technical problem of the invention is seen in specifying an improved method for securing, stabilising and reclaiming areas of land and subsoils above and below water.
This problem is solved by the method wherein the securing is carried out by means of (old) vehicle tires interconnected in a net-like manner, weighting being accomplished by means of concrete injected in a protective sheath. The basis for the individual uses are therefore vehicle tires, preferably old vehicle tires, which are available in virtually unlimited quantity, and protective sheaths which are provided in and/or on the vehicle tires and into which concrete is injected on site. Such injecting can be carried out by remote control by way of injection hoses, and therefore, by virtue of the method according to the invention, weighting of the net structure can be achieved even in regions where access is poor. Old vehicle tires can be acquired extremely cost-effectively and, by means of different possibilities for associating them with each other and disposing them with one another, are connected to one another in a net-like manner to form bodies or sheets and, by way of the disposed and/or associated protective sheaths and injecting activities with the aid of liquid concrete or other pumpable injecting medium, become a highly loadable and at the same time flexible purpose-built structure which satisfies the respective requirements. Both vehicle tires and the injectable concrete are environmentally neutral and in no way have an adverse influence on the environmental balance. By virtue of the special injecting technique, a high-grade concrete is achieved, of which the quality, attributable to injecting by means of a protective sheath, is not diminished by, for example, components of sea water. When substrates are being introduced into the protective-sheath region of tire net structures, it is ensured that the substrate arrives, undamaged, at the target location, namely the net structure, even over long filling distances. As an alternative or in combination, it is also conceivable to use other rubber-like materials or plastics materials in the form of profiles or hollow bodies in order to produce the net structure according to the invention. The net-shaped sheet-like arrangement of old vehicle tires is used, for example, for the protection of dunes, dykes and land areas which have been eroded or are exposed to erosion. Thus, there is provision for the vehicle tires, in the first place, to be connected to one another in a net-like manner and then to be laid onto or introduced to an area of land to be secured. Particularly if the vehicle tires interconnected in a net-like manner are used for securing or stabilising dunes, there is the advantageous effect that sand swirled up by the action of wind settles in the non-preinjected tire inner spaces, thus resulting in a digging-in effect of the net structure. This effect can also be seen in use for securing dykes and shoreline and coastal regions, particularly under water. Here, due to the water flow, sand, silt and the like are deposited in the non-preinjected tire inner spaces. Furthermore, in the method according to the invention, a multilayered arrangement of vehicle tires interconnected in a net-like manner can also be carried out. There is also the possibility, while the method is being performed, of filling the vehicle tires, in each case prepared by means of a protective sheath, after they have been laid onto the area of land. Thus, for example, there may be provision for injecting the vehicle tires in a locally controlled manner with concrete, substrates or other filling media for weighting purposes and also to achieve a structure having the same nature over the entire volume. This measure serves for the purposes of weighting and of better retention on the respective land area, individual tires or a plurality of tires being injected completely or partially. The tires injected for weighting act under water in the same way as anchor or masonry structures taking effect by virtue of their weight. Injecting with concrete or other filling materials is carried out in that hoses lead from a concrete pump or a blower to permeable fabric-hoses or double surfaces embedded in the tires and liquid concrete or air-enriched substrates is introduced by way of these hoses into the hose or fabric surfaces. In this case, only the solid constituents of the pumped material remain inside the hose or fabric surface; excess water or air as means of transport pass outwards through the fabric meshes. This method can be carried out both above and below water. As an alternative to this, there may also be provision for filling the vehicle tires or the protective sheaths with earth. Thus, for the protection of, for example, land areas exposed to erosion or already eroded, the clear intermediate spaces inside and outside the vehicle tires can be filled with humus or topsoil, so as to form a base for vegetation (grass, dune grass, marram, coppices, etc.). If vegetation under water is desired (seaweed, certain algae etc.), then substrates, intermixed with the corresponding plant germs or seeds, can be injected, likewise under water, into the clear intermediate spaces, preferably by means of protective sheaths. In an advantageous development of the subject of the invention, there is provision for the net-like connection to be provided as a spatial structure of a plurality of layers of vehicle tires. If a plurality of layers of vehicle tires interconnected in a net-like manner are thus layered one above the other, the layers also being capable of being connected to one another and thereafter injected, preferably with concrete, a highly stable embankment core can thereby be formed which, because of the rubber layers of the tires, is sufficiently flexible in itself to absorb structural and subsoil movements which occur. Such tire embankments are also pre-eminently suitable where, for example in regions of shallow water, filling operations are to be carried out, for example for islands to be used for residential and vegetation purposes. The tire embankments formed by means of the method according to the invention are more cost-effective and function better than the angle supporting walls used hitherto. In the construction of atoll-like tire walls, the outer tire layers may remain non-injected, so that they can be filled with a suitable substrate for vegetation. The spatial arrangement of old vehicle tires, particularly in a case of a large-volume arrangement under water, serves, for example, for the protection of dykes or the like, such structures causing turbulences in a laminar water flow, the result of which is that, for example, sand, silt, etc. can no longer be flushed away but, instead, is arrested due to the turbulent flow and is deposited into the spatial tire structure. An effect of digging into the subsoil occurs in this case, as is known, for example, with regard to so-called concrete or steel tetrapods which serve for surface securing in the known prior art. These, however, still continue to be worked into the subsoil and ultimately no longer fulfil their purpose, since, in contrast to the tire arrangement described, they are not connected to one another. By means of the method according to the invention, turbulence-generating large-volume injected tire arrangements of virtually unlimited length and thickness can be laid against the subsoil to be protected, in the same way as a flexible and, if appropriate, impermeable coat of chain-mail. If building structures according to the invention are to be erected under water, it proves advantageous to construct the net structure on a floatable carrying device. The latter may also serve as an auxiliary structure for sliding off onto the water surface if the net structure is constructed on the shore. It is proposed, for this purpose, that the net structure be constructed continuously, with a finished section being lowered onto a water surface. It is pertinent in this case, that no complicated machines and appliances are required. The assembly and transport of the net structure are appreciably simplified by virtue of the construction according to the invention. The tire structure prefabricated on the carrying device provided as an auxiliary assembly scaffolding first slides off onto the water surface and thereafter can be brought by tugboats in the simplest possible way into the intended position and lowered there. It proves advantageous, in this regard, if the net structure is equipped with buoyancy bodies. The latter may, in the simplest form, be air-filled plastics or rubber hoses. There is provision, furthermore, for the injecting with concrete to be carried out under water after laying on a land area (for example, the ocean floor). For this purpose, it is also proposed that a connection of injecting hoses also be carried out while the net structure is being constructed. Moreover, according to the invention, any type of injecting, in particular with concrete, above and below water, can be monitored to the effect that the completion of injecting of the vehicle tires provided with the protective sheaths can be observed. It is proposed, in this regard, that a completion of injecting above and below water be monitored by way of a monitoring hose. By means of this monitoring hose connected to the net structure, the degree of filling can be indicated, particularly in the case of underwater injecting by injecting means emerging at the free end. This free end is preferably provided with a monitoring sock (fabric sock). Where injecting with concrete is concerned, the monitoring sock proves and indicates, by a hard consistency, that injecting has likewise taken place in the net structure. If the monitoring sock is still soft, the injecting hardness of the protective sheaths of the net structure is likewise soft. The monitoring socks can also be placed, above and below water, at any point on the bodies to be filled. A remote-control function is thus afforded. Injecting of the lowered net structure is therefore carried out by way of long hose lines from land or, if appropriate, from the floating carrying device or a boat. By fabric hoses being provided in the net structure, a closed-volume structure can be produced by injecting. It is thus possible to produce concrete bodies of any desired thickness which, due to the encasing or internal tires, constitute a flexibly acting reinforcement. By virtue of the controlled injecting technique, it is possible, at any desired location and in any water depth, to produce a satisfactory concrete which is not contaminated, for example, by sea water. In contrast to the known prior art, underwater works, such as, for example, the construction of new reefs and islands, can easily be carried out from the water surface by remote control. The use of injection hoses is cost-effective, since commercially available plug and connection systems can be used for this purpose. Any desired assembly platform can be erected with the aid of commercially available scaffolding-tube connections as carrying device, with underside pontoons or drums as floatation bodies. Costly and complicated traction machines for pulling the tire structure into the water from land are dispensed with. The proposed carrying device acts in the manner of a weaving loom. The tire sections assembled in each case slide onto the water surface, where they remain on the surface, by means of the buoyancy bodies mentioned, until they are lowered at the location of intended placement. When the flexible tire carpet or the three-dimensional tire structure is lowered, it adapts to the unevennesses of the ocean floor. Only after injection, for example with concrete, does the structure acquire its strengths as though it were cast in place on the ocean floor. In the method according to the invention, costly submersion works are required merely for checking purposes and individual assembly purposes.
The invention relates, furthermore, to a dyke, such as a sea dyke or river dyke, with an outer slope and an inner slope. Here, for stabilising and securing the dyke, it is proposed that the outer slope and/or the inner slope be secured by means of injected vehicle tires which lie on them and which are connected to one another to form a net structure. There are many reasons why damage to the dyke body occurs. First and foremost is the damage caused by the force of the water (flow, waves, surf, ice). This includes, inter alia, holes knocked into the dyke slopes by the surf. Moreover, there are atmospheric phenomena (precipitations, frost, drought) which cause the dyke soil to be washed away, damage to the turf and shrinkage cracks in the dyke body. Furthermore, man also puts the dyke at risk by carelessness, thus, for example, by travelling over the dyke on surfaces not intended for this purpose or else by forming footpaths or the like. It is known to ward off, weaken or render harmless by structural measures water forces which come into action. A distinction is made, here, between active (natural) dyke protection and passive (artificial) dyke protection. In passive dyke protection, the attacking forces are absorbed by protective works (shoreline fortifications consisting of shrubbery, stones or bitumen, groynes, training embankments etc.) lying directly along the dyke line or additionally by securing works (fencing works, dyke walls) on the dyke body itself. These known measures prove mostly either to be either highly labour-intensive and cost-intensive or to be unsuccessful. The arrangement according to the invention of vehicle tires, in particular old vehicle tires, connected to form a net structure and injected, for example, with concrete, on the slope of the dyke affords dyke protection in the simplest possible way and extremely cost-effectively. An arrangement in which the net structure is multi-layered is preferred in this case. As a result of this construction, turbulences are caused in a laminar water flow which accretes to the dyke soil in unprotected form. The result of this is that sand, silt, etc. cannot be flushed away. Instead, the advantageous effect is obtained whereby sand, silt, etc. is deposited into the spatial tire structure. A construction in which the net structure tapers in a stepped manner towards the dyke top is preferred. Thus, for example below a maximum water level, a three-layer or multi-layer arrangement of vehicle tire net structures may be provided, and these layers may also be connected to one another. Above the maximum water level, the net structure is merely of single-layer form, and, in this region, it is possible, for example, for the vehicle tires and the free spaces formed between them to be filled with topsoil injected in fabric hoses. Moreover, it proves advantageous if the net structure extends over and beyond the slope into the land in front. Thus, for example, there is provision, on the water side of a sea dyke, for the net structure to secure both the outer slope and the outer berm preceding the latter. For the purposes of weighting and of better retention on these areas, it is preferred to inject individual tires with concrete or other filling material completely and also together with one another by way of fabric hoses. On the inside, too, the dyke may be protected against erosion and mechanical stress by means of, for example, a single-layer net structure of vehicle tires, in which case, here too, the net structure can extend beyond the inner slope over the inner berm.
The invention relates, furthermore, to a net structure of vehicle tires, in particular for use in the method or for forming a dyke wherein, in order to improve such a net structure, it is proposed that the net structure be weighted by means of concrete injected in a protective sheath. By virtue of the construction according to the invention, the injection with concrete is carried out in a highly controlled manner and preferably by remote control, in that the filling of the protective sheaths takes place by way of attached connecting hoses which, if appropriate bundled together, are linked with a compressor or the like on the far side of the concreting location. It proves advantageous, at the same time, for the protective sheath to be a hose which is inserted, for example, into the tire interior. Particularly when the net structure according to the invention is erected under water, there is provision for the protective sheath to be water-impermeable, with the result that the injected concrete or another injected material is not contaminated, for example, by sea water. As an alternative or in combination, there may also be provision for the concrete element injected in the protective sheath to pass through the vehicle tire in the axial direction. A sock, in particular a fabric sock, is preferably used for this purpose. It proves to be a particular advantage, in this regard, if the concrete elements are brought by injection into a non-positive and/or positive bond with the vehicle tires. Such a net structure according to the invention, in particular comprising old vehicle tires, may be used for securing, stabilising and reclaiming different land areas and subsoils, both above and below water. It is also proposed, in this respect, that two vehicle tires be bolted to one another by penetration through the treads. Thus, the old vehicle tires lying with their treads against one another can be connected to one another in the simplest possible way, for example by means of screwing, for example in order to achieve a chain of a plurality of even completely different old vehicle tires. Alternatively, the connection may be selected in such a way that two vehicle tires are connected to one another by means of a loop, such as a wire loop. Connections by means of chains, wire or other clamping members may also be envisaged. These connection possibilities serve, in particular, for forming a sheet-like net structure. As an alternative or else in combination, there may be provision for one vehicle tire to connect two further vehicle tires to one another in a loop-like manner. In this case, all the tires are connected to one another, as desired, in the manner of a structure composed of chain links, with the result that a spatial arrangement of vehicle tires is achieved. Such a spatial arrangement is also possible through connection by means of a loop or by bolting together. The advantage of such a spatial arrangement is the generous spatial volume thus achieved and in the better moveability in relation to the subsoil. The net structure thus formed has an improved adaptability. There is advantageously provision for the connecting vehicle tire or the connected vehicle tires to be severed and reconnected to one another. There is also provision, in this respect, for the severed vehicle tires to have a substantially radially directed severing cut and to be reconnected to one another so as to overlap at the severing point. In a preferred construction, this connection is made by bolting together. However, other possibilities for reconnecting the severed vehicle tire may also be envisaged, thus, for example, by vulcanisation. In a further construction of the subject of the invention, there is provision for connecting one vehicle tire to at least two further vehicle tires. A construction is preferred in which one vehicle tire is filled with a filling mass, the filling mass being preferably concrete for weighting the net structure or for forming an anchor. The concrete can be injected both above and below water. It is also conceivable, in this respect, for the concrete to fill the tire inner space, that is to say so as to leave the tire opening free. Alternatively, there may also be provision for the concrete to fill the vehicle tire completely, including the free tire opening. The concrete to be injected can be pressed directly into the clear intermediate spaces inside and also outside the tires. A construction is preferred, however, in which a fabric hose injected with concrete is accommodated in the tire inner space. Thus, the concrete can be conducted from a concrete pump by way of hoses to the permeable fabric hoses or else double surfaces embedded in the tires. At the same time, only the solid constituents of the pumped material remain in the fabric hose, the excess water passing outwards through the fabric meshes. This type of concrete injection is also suitable for the complete filling of the vehicle tire, in which case a fabric hose filling the entire tire diameter and injected with concrete is accommodated in the vehicle tire. It is also preferred, in this respect, that a fabric hose have a filling connection. The hose connected to the concrete pump is attached to the filling connection. In order, in a net structure of a multiplicity of vehicle tires, to avoid having to operate each individual fabric hose for filling with concrete, there is advantageously provision for a fabric hose to have two filling connections as inlet and outlet connections. Furthermore, more than two filling connections are also conceivable. Thus, the individual fabric hoses may, for filling purposes, be connected in a row or in series by hose-like or tube-like connection pieces which are in each case connected at one end to an outlet connection of a first fabric hose and at the other end to an inlet connection of the next fabric hose. There is also the possibility of attaching a monitoring hose to a filling connection. The latter serves for monitoring the state of injection of the net structure, irrespective of whether injection takes place above or below water. A construction is preferred, in this regard, in which a monitoring sock injected with concrete is provided on the hose. The monitoring sock serves, in this case, as an indicator of the state of injection, particularly during the injection of net structures which cannot be seen or cannot be seen easily, such as during injection under water. Furthermore, the hardened-out monitoring sock can also be filed away and used for subsequent analytical purposes. In order to offer concrete injection over the full area of the entire network, it is expedient for wedge-shaped regions arising when vehicle tires are laid against one another flat to be filled with concrete. In this case, it is also conceivable for the wedge-shaped regions to be injected with concrete through a fabric hose having a filling connection. For this purpose, the fabric hose may also have two filling connections as inlet and outlet connections, in order to connect these to the fabric hoses in the vehicle tires The filling connections mentioned may be provided in the form of known injection nipples, in which one nipple serves for the supply of injection mass and the other nipple conveys the injection mass further on to other fabric-hose bodies. The latter are advantageously modified in such a way that provided in the fabric hose is a spreading ring which can consist of any desired material having a diameter approximately equal to the inside diameter of a tire and which serves for prefixing the fabric hose in the vehicle tire. Alternatively to the concrete filling mass, it may also be envisaged to fill the clear intermediate spaces inside and outside the vehicle tires with humus or topsoil, this being a basis for vegetation. If vegetation under water is desired, there may be provision for the filling mass to be a substrate intermixed with plant germs and/or plant seeds. These may likewise be injected under water. According to the invention, the arrangements of the individual vehicle tires with and in relation to one another are such that, in principle, these can be connected as follows. First by direct bolting together in each case of two tire surfaces which are in relation to one another. Further, by loose connection of tires with the aid of chain or wire loops or those made of other suitable materials, such as ropes, etc. It is also possible, moreover, to connect tires by means of a tire previously cut open and subsequently joined together again to form a closed ring, the latter tire being bolted in a simple way. In the arrangement of the tires in relation to one another, sheet-like or else spatial structures are possible, thus, for example, sheet-like, even multi-layer layers, arranged parallel to one another, which may be injected over their partial or else entire area. Furthermore, also spatial structures of any desired thickness and length which may be injected or else left open.
The invention relates, furthermore, to an assembly platform for erecting a tire net structure on water. The assembly platform according to the invention is distinguished by rolling members which are arranged with their axes of rotation transverse to a longitudinal extent of the net structure and by way of which net-structure sections put together on the assembly platform can slide off onto the water surface in the simplest possible way. Alternatively, the assembly of the net structure may be carried out in the shoreline region, after which the assembly platform serves merely as a run-out aid. It is also proposed, in this respect, that the rolling members form a working base surface for the assembly platform. There is provision, moreover, for the assembly platform to have on its underside floatation elements, such as, for example, pontoons or drums. As regards the rolling members, there is provision for these to be formed from (old) vehicle tires. It is, however, also possible, for example, for used steel barrel hoops to be employed. The assembly platform may, furthermore, consist of commercially available scaffolding tubes with scaffolding-tube connectors.
The method according to the invention and also the dyke according to the invention, the net structure according to the invention and the assembly platform according to the invention prove to be extremely cost-effective, since the basic materials, such as old vehicle tires, incur virtually no costs for the user. In practice, there is usually even a situation where the person disposing of the old tire also has to pay for giving away the old tire, that is to say the recipient, hence, in the present case, for example, the user of the method, is even paid for accepting the old tires Tremendous benefits are also afforded in economic terms. Jobs can be created within the framework of the use according to the invention. The synergy effect is enormous, and its positive development still cannot be foreseen.